Employer firm births in Sonoma County

Employer firm births in Sonoma County was 801 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 14.3% from 2022. That is the 17th highest of 58 counties in 2023.

2023, count801

Change on 2022-14.3%

Rank17th of 58Counties in California ranked

Series high1,2161990

Series low6222010

Employer firm births in Sonoma County, 1978 to 2023

count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Retrieved 2026-10-22, published 2025-09-25.

All 46 values

Period	count
2023	801
2022	935
2021	757
2020	861
2019	869
2018	785
2017	819
2016	801
2015	786
2014	808
2013	671
2012	691
2011	672
2010	622
2009	713
2008	878
2007	913
2006	957
2005	886
2004	876
2003	883
2002	923
2001	898
2000	887
1999	907
1998	871
1997	918
1996	959
1995	900
1994	895
1993	895
1992	889
1991	1,131
1990	1,216
1989	1,199
1988	1,042
1987	1,168
1986	1,148
1985	1,132
1984	1,136
1983	895
1982	809
1981	848
1980	945
1979	1,013
1978	1,054

Compared with California and United States

Place	2023
Sonoma County	801
California	70,055
United States	508,777

Sonoma County compared with nearby places

Under 100
100 to 200
200 to 600
600 to 1,500
1,500 and over

Employer firm births, 2023, count. Sonoma County is outlined. Same source and period for every area shown. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Rankings

US states by employer firm births 51 places
Counties in California by employer firm births 58 places

Definition

New employer firms: firms of age zero in March of the year, meaning that every establishment of the firm had its first employees during the previous twelve months. United States: Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics, which calls these firms startups.

A firm counts only when it has employees, so a business without staff is not a birth, and a new branch, merger or change of ownership of an existing firm is not a birth either. Not the same as business_applications (requests for an employer number) or enterprise_births (European business demography). The year is the twelve months to March: 2023 compares March 2022 with March 2023.

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How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-22.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2025). Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978 (Employer firm births, Sonoma County, 1978 to 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978, Employer firm births, Sonoma County, 1978 to 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/sonoma-county-california. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Employer firm births, Sonoma County, 1978 to 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 22, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/sonoma-county-california.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978, Employer firm births, Sonoma County, 1978 to 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/sonoma-county-california (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_employer_firm_births_sonoma_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978: Employer firm births, Sonoma County, 1978 to 2023}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-22},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/sonoma-county-california. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st\_cty\_fac.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-22.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978: Employer firm births, Sonoma County, 1978 to 2023
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/09/25
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/sonoma-county-california
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/sonoma-county-california.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
ER  -

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Questions

What is the employer firm births in Sonoma County?

Employer firm births in Sonoma County was 801 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 14.3% from 2022. That is the 17th highest of 58 counties in 2023.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-22.

What was the highest employer firm births in Sonoma County?

1,216 in 1990, the highest value since 1978 in this series.

Related statistics for Sonoma County

All statistics for Sonoma County | Sonoma County in figures